New AGA Report Shows Americans Gamble More Than Half a Trillion Dollars Illegally Each Year

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Americans gamble an estimated $511 billion each year with illegal and unregulated sportsbooks, iGaming websites and so-called "skill games". This illegal wagering robs state governments of $13.3 billion in tax revenue annually. It costs the legal gaming industry $44.2 billion annually, or nearly half of the $92 billion revenue in 2021.

Americans wager $63.8 billion with illegal bookies and offshore sites. AGA estimates that illegal operators are capturing nearly 40 percent of the U.S. sports betting market. Americans are moving to the regulated market with legal sports bets’s expansion to 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Americans wager an estimated $337.9 billion with illegal iGaming websites. The illegal market is three times the size of the legal one. iGambling is only legal in six states.

There are 580,651 unregulated gaming machines in the U.S. with 870,000 regulated machines. Unlicensed machines take advantage of customers. The operator win percentage on unregulated machines is higher than on legal casino slot machines, for example, in Nevada.

The study was conducted by The Innovation Group on behalf of the American Gaming Association. It is based on a survey of 5,284 U.S adults. Commercial or tribal casino gaming is legal in 36 states, iGaming is illegal in six states and sports betting is allowed in Washington, D.C.

Americans Gamble More than Half a Trillion dollars illegally each year. Commercial or tribal casino gaming is legal in 36 states and sports betting is allowed in 6 states.